Six alumni vie for Ontario Premier's Awards

An Oscar-nominated film director, an up-and-coming leader in the gaming world, entrepreneurs, innovators, and advocates for women and children all make up Sheridan’s cohort of nominees for the 2019 Premier’s Awards.

Six Sheridan graduates will be celebrated at the awards’ gala in Toronto on Dec. 2.

Launched in 1992 by Colleges Ontario, each year the Premier’s Awards celebrate college alumni by recognizing one winner in each of the competition’s categories. Sheridan alumni have taken home the prize 17 times. This year, Sheridan’s nominees are:

• In the Health Sciences Category, Connie Stevens (Office Administration ’88) is nominated for the compassion and advocacy she demonstrates as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. Stevens also demonstrates commitment to Sheridan students every day as program co-ordinator of the Office Administration program.
  
  
• Award-winning animator Dean DeBlois (Animation ’90) is the nominee in the Creative Arts & Design category. DeBlois is best known as the writer and director of the How to Train Your Dragon DreamWorks trilogy. He also co-wrote and co-directed Disney's Lilo & Stitch.
  
  
• The nominee in the Technology category is James Henderson (Computer Science Technology ’04). Henderson is the president of Avigilon, a Motorola Solutions company. Under his leadership, Avigilon has expanded its market presence and corporate profile to become a globally recognized leader in the security industry. 
  
  
• Kevin Francis (Child & Youth Worker ’14) is the Community Services nominee. He's worked with children struggling with mental health and addictions issues, or those who may have been victims of abuse. He is a caseworker for the Government of Alberta, working in the Métis Settlement Child and Family Services division.
  
  
• Meagan Byrne (Bachelor of Game Design ’17) is this year’s Recent Graduate nominee. Byrne is a Métis game designer and the co-founder of Achimostawinan Games, a video game company dedicated to developing Indigenous games for an Indigenous audience. She is also digital and interactive co-ordinator with imagineNATIVE, the world's largest Indigenous film and media arts festival. 
  
  
• Susan Webb (Travel & Hospitality ’75), is this year’s Business nominee. She is president of VoX International, a marketing and public relations agency representing destinations and hospitality brands around the world. She has over 40 years of experience in the travel industry, and is also president of tourism industry organizations Skal Canada and Discover America Canada.

In addition to the nominees, a talented Sheridan alumnus will also serve as the event’s master of ceremonies. James Cunningham, a 1996 alumnus of the College’s Theatre and Drama Studies program is a comedian, television host and corporate emcee who has hosted the Premier’s Award for multiple years.